3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
Teddy (as he appears to have been known) Giles’ time in the Army appears to have been very short and he probably did not complete basic training.
Edward George Giles was born in Fairford in the first half of 1898 and his baptism in the local parish church was on 28 June of that year).
His parents were William Henry Giles (1865-1950), a road labourer with the local rural district council and his wife Rachel)1868- 1956: née Hayward). The couple had five children but only three were surviving at the time of the 1911 census, Teddy, plus elder sister Ellen Elizabeth (born 1893) and elder brother (William Robert Henry (born 1895). Teddy appears to have lived most, if not all, of his life at 1 Vines Row, Fairford.
As there appears to be no surviving Army Service Record, we do not know the exact date when Teddy was conscripted into the Army, as would have been the case shortly after his 18th birthday in early 1916. However, it is likely that mobilisation did not occur until maybe late 1916 or early 1917. His entry in the Register of Soldiers’ Effects (RSE) held at the National Army Museum shows that he was not eligible for any gratuity upon termination of his service, indicating that the latter lasted less than six months of home service. He was posted to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, where he would have undergone basic training in preparation for service abroad, once reaching the age of 19. In 1917 the 3rd Glosters were located in the Maidstone/Sittingbourne area, where it acted as the Medway Garrison.
According to the RSE, Teddy died on 20 May 1917 in a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) Hospital at the age of 18 in Sevenoaks, Kent.
According to the burial records for St Mary’s Church at Fairford, he died in hospital at Chipstead. This is in the Sevenoaks locality and there was a VAD Hospital at Chipstead Place. The cause of death is unknown but a recently released Pension Record Card states that he ‘died of disease’.
Private Edward George Giles’ grave is marked by a standard Commonwealth War Grave Commission headstone and he is commemorated on the Fairford War memorial.
Researched by Graham Adams 13 February 2021